Sports Update » Scott Solomonhttp://blog.chron.com/sportsupdate
Blogging special sports events and storiesSun, 02 Aug 2015 19:10:51 +0000en-UShourly1http://wordpress.org/?v=4.2.2NFL draft: Titans select Rice DE Solomon in seventh roundhttp://blog.chron.com/sportsupdate/2012/04/nfl-draft-titans-select-rice-de-solomon-in-seventh-round/
http://blog.chron.com/sportsupdate/2012/04/nfl-draft-titans-select-rice-de-solomon-in-seventh-round/#commentsSat, 28 Apr 2012 21:37:38 +0000http://blog.chron.com/owls/?p=7357
Rice defensive end Scott Solomon had 24 career sacks, including 8.5 as a senior, to tie the school record.]]>Rice defensive end Scott Solomon was selected by the Tennessee Titans in the seventh round – the 211th overall pick – during Saturday’s final day of the NFL draft.

Solomon finished his four-year career with 24 sacks, which tied the school record set by Brandon Green from 1999-2002.

With seventh-round picks not guaranteed a roster spot, Solomon said he’s going to be “relentless.”

“I’m going to be a ball of fire in there doing everything I can to help the team out and to be a contributor in any way I can,” he said.

After missing the 2010 season with a serious foot injury, Solomon had 8.5 sacks and 13.5 tackles for loss last season.

“Scott realized his dream today, and he only was able to do so because of the dedication and perseverance he showed after he injured his foot in 2010,” Rice coach David Bailiff said. “He never stopped working and never gave up on his dream of reaching the NFL. I am excited for him and know that the Titans have added a tremendous talent to their roster.”

Tennessee had traded their seventh-round pick to Miami Dolphins earlier in the draft, but moved back in by sending a 2013 sixth-round pick to Minnesota Vikings.

Rice offensive tackle Jake Hicks signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as an undrafted free agent.

]]>http://blog.chron.com/sportsupdate/2012/04/nfl-draft-titans-select-rice-de-solomon-in-seventh-round/feed/3Rice players to attend NFL draft combinehttp://blog.chron.com/sportsupdate/2012/02/rice-players-to-attend-nfl-draft-combine/
http://blog.chron.com/sportsupdate/2012/02/rice-players-to-attend-nfl-draft-combine/#commentsTue, 07 Feb 2012 16:23:49 +0000http://blog.chron.com/owls/?p=6162
Rice punter Kyle Martens and defensive end Scott Solomon will participate in the annual showcase of top college draft prospects.]]>Former Rice All-America punter Kyle Martens and defensive end Scott Solomon have been invited to participate in the NFL scouting combine, which will be held Feb. 22-28 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.
More than 300 players received invitations to the event, which showcases the top college draft prospects and will include Heisman Trophy winner Robert Griffin III of Baylor and runner-up Andrew Luck of Stanford.

Players will undergo interviews and evaluations with executives, coaching staffs and medical personnel for all 32 NFL teams.

Martens is one of 11 kickers who will participate in the combine, while Solomon will be in a group of 59 linemen.

This marks the third time in the last four years Rice has been represented at the combine. James Casey and Jarett Dillard participated in 2009, and Cheta Ozougwu went last year.

]]>http://blog.chron.com/sportsupdate/2012/02/rice-players-to-attend-nfl-draft-combine/feed/4Ten Owls earn All-Conference USA football honorshttp://blog.chron.com/sportsupdate/2011/12/ten-owls-earn-all-conference-usa-football-honors/
http://blog.chron.com/sportsupdate/2011/12/ten-owls-earn-all-conference-usa-football-honors/#commentsTue, 06 Dec 2011 18:27:54 +0000http://blog.chron.com/owls/?p=5204
Punter Kyle Martens was a repeat selection to the first team, while defensive end Scott Solomon, left, was named to the second team.]]>Conference USA announced its all-conference football teams Tuesday. Ten Rice players, led by first-team selection Kyle Martens, were recognized.

Does someone else deserve recognition? Leave your take in the comment section.

Rice football postseason awards

]]>http://blog.chron.com/sportsupdate/2011/11/top-owls-handing-out-rice-postseason-football-awards/feed/18Rice helmet stickers: Seniors rise to occasion in win over Tulanehttp://blog.chron.com/sportsupdate/2011/11/rice-helmet-stickers-seniors-rise-to-occasion-in-win-over-tulane/
http://blog.chron.com/sportsupdate/2011/11/rice-helmet-stickers-seniors-rise-to-occasion-in-win-over-tulane/#commentsMon, 21 Nov 2011 05:50:03 +0000http://blog.chron.com/owls/?p=4820
Tyler Smith rushes for 145 yards and two touchdowns and Scott Solomon ties the career sacks record in a 19-7 victory over Tulane.]]>• Tyler Smith: Smith ran for 145 yards and two touchdowns. He was at his best late in the game, rushing for 55 yards on the Owls’ final touchdown drive. For the game, Smith had 186 of the Owls’ 237 yards total offense.

• Scott Solomon: Solomon had two sacks to give him 24 for his career, moving into a tie with Brandon Green (1999-2002) for the school’s career record.

Chris Boswell: Boswell hit a career-long 54-yard field goal and a 51-yarder – both into the wind. The 54-yarder matched the third-longest in school history. Boswell has 16 field goals this season, one shy of matching James Hamrick’s school record 17 set in 1985.

• Cameron Nwosu: With eight tackles, Nwosu increased his season total to 102, becoming the first Rice linebacker with at least 100 since Brian Raines in 2007.

• Kyle Martens: Martens averaged 46 yards on six punts against Tulane and had two downed inside the 10-yard line. He moved into second on the school’s all-time list in punt yardage with 9,517 yards.

• Justin Allen: Allen had a team-high nine tackles and two tackles for loss, including a third-down stop on Tulane’s next-to-last drive that sealed the game for the Owls.

• Xavier Webb: Webb, among 25 seniors honored before the game, recorded his first career interception in the second quarter.

]]>http://blog.chron.com/sportsupdate/2011/11/rice-helmet-stickers-seniors-rise-to-occasion-in-win-over-tulane/feed/6Rice helmet stickers: Offense rolls in win over UTEPhttp://blog.chron.com/sportsupdate/2011/11/rice-helmet-stickers-offense-rolls-in-win-over-utep/
http://blog.chron.com/sportsupdate/2011/11/rice-helmet-stickers-offense-rolls-in-win-over-utep/#commentsSun, 06 Nov 2011 04:41:19 +0000http://blog.chron.com/owls/?p=4590
The Owls produce 671 yards total offense, the third-highest total in school history, and hang on for a 41-37 victory over UTEP.]]>• Quarterback Nick Fanuzzi: This hasn’t been an easy season for Fanuzzi, who lost his job to Taylor McHargue and has spent his final year watching from the bench. To his credit, Fanuzzi never sulked and waited patiently for his opportunity. It came Saturday, and in his first start of the season Fanuzzi completed 30 of 43 for a career-high 405 yards and three touchdowns. He joins Tommy Kramer (1976) and Chase Clement (2007-08) as the only Rice quarterbacks to pass for at least 400 yards in a game.

“He’s prepared hard for this moment,” coach David Bailiff said. “He knew it was coming. He’s maintained a great attitude since last year. When his number was called he was ready.”

Fanuzzi gets bonus points for waiting until the last moment – and a defender coming at him like a rocket – before throwing a 23-yard touchdown to Randy Kitchens that gave the Owls some cushion late in the game.

• Wide receiver Vance McDonald: At 6-foot-5, 260 pounds, McDonald is a matchup problem for most teams. The Owls finally were able to exploit the mismatch as McDonald caught a career-high eight passes for 157 yards and a touchdown.

• Cornerback Bryce Callahan: When will teams learn? Callahan had two interceptions against UTEP, giving him a team-leading five for the season. His last interception with 6:37 remaining was clutch, allowing the Owls to take a 10-point lead in the fourth quarter.

“I hope (teams) keep picking on him,” Bailiff said.

• Offensive coordinator John Reagan: The Owls offense has been criticized this season for underachieving and, at times, a lack of imagination. It may have taken half the season, but Reagan and the offensive staff have shown a commitment to a steady dose of the wild Owl formation in the last two games and have found ways to get the ball to play-makers such as Vance McDonald and Taylor Cook. For the first time the Owls established a run-pass balance that truly kept the opposing defense off-balance and guessing.

• Running back Tyler Petersen: Petersen has been the driving force behind the success of the wild Owl formation. He got things going with a 44-yard touchdown run, and he also had a 29-yard pass to Tyler Smith on the Owls’ second drive that showed Rice is capable of throwing out of the formation.

• Running back Tyler Smith: The best way to describe Smith is steady. He had another all-around solid game with 89 rushing yards and eight catches for 74 yards.

• Tight end Taylor Cook: The way Cook has been (or in this case hasn’t been) used has been one of the biggest enigmas for the Owls this season. Cook had his best game of the season with three catches for 89 yards. He had a 51-yard catch that setup the Owls’ go-ahead touchdown in the fourth quarter.

• Wide receiver Jordan Taylor: After missing time with a leg injury suffered in a car accident prior to preseason camp, Taylor is showing why the coaching staff was so high on him. He had three catches, including a 6-yard touchdown that allowed the Owls to take a 34-31 lead late in the fourth quarter.

• Kicker Chris Boswell: Boswell connected on field goals from 37 and 23 yards to give him 14 this season. That moves him into sole position of third place on the school’s all-time list. He is three away from the single-season record 17, set by James Hamrick in 1985. Boswell did have a kickoff go out of bounds that allowed UTEP to begin a drive at its 40-yard line.

• Linebacker Justin Allen: Allen had a key sack to force a punt in the first quarter that allowed the Owls to get the ball back and score to take a 10-point lead. He also had a tackle for loss later in the game, giving him nine for the season.

• Defensive end Scott Solomon: Solomon was questionable for the game with an ankle injury. He only had three tackles, but his presence forces teams to take notice.

The Owls had six players named to the magazine’s midseason team: punter Kyle Martens was a second-team selection; linebacker Justin Allen and left tackle Jake Hicks were named to the third team.

Solomon and Martens also received honorable mention All-America honors.

• After missing all of last season with a foot injury, Solomon has been a consistent force on the defensive line with four sacks and seven tackles for loss. Solomon ranks in the top six nationally among active players in career sacks (19.5), solo sacks (18), tackles for loss (37) and solo tackles for loss (32).

• Willson leads the Owls with 20 receptions for 196 yards and two touchdowns.

• Boswell has accounted for a team-high 32 points this season. He’s converted all 14 extra-point attempts and is 6-of-7 on field goals. He also handles the Owls kickoff duties, holding opponents to an 18.8-yard average through five games.

• Martens, who earned All-America honors last season, is averaging 46.1 yards per punt and has placed 12 of his 33 punts inside the opponents 20-yard line. Eight of the 12 punts have been downed inside the 10.

• Allen is second on the team with 47 tackles, including a career-high 3.5 tackles for loss, and his block of Purdue’s field goal as time expired preserved Rice’s 24-22 win in Week 2.

• Hicks has been a constant on the offensive line with 34 career starts, including all five at left tackle this season.

]]>http://blog.chron.com/sportsupdate/2011/10/six-owls-earn-midseason-football-honors/feed/3Rice helmet stickers: Defense provides spark in win over Memphishttp://blog.chron.com/sportsupdate/2011/10/rice-helmet-stickers-defense-provides-spark-in-win-over-memphis/
http://blog.chron.com/sportsupdate/2011/10/rice-helmet-stickers-defense-provides-spark-in-win-over-memphis/#commentsSun, 09 Oct 2011 15:55:57 +0000http://blog.chron.com/owls/?p=4182
The Rice defense records five sacks and does not allow a touchdown for the first time since 1995 in a 28-6 win over Memphis.]]>After every win this season I will present helmet stickers.

Drum roll, please …

• Jared Williams: It’s been a good last two games for roommates Williams and Xavier Webb. Webb returned a 96-yard fumble for a touchdown in the Owls’ Conference USA opening loss to Southern Miss on Oct. 1. Not to be outdone, Williams caught a tipped pass and returned the interception 47 yards for a touchdown Saturday against Memphis. The score, early in the third quarter, sparked the Owls to a 28-6 win. “It nice to get back to the end zone,” the former tight end said.

• Defensive coaching staff: The Owls have taken a lot of criticism this season – from not being able to prevent big plays or stop the run – and were coming off poor performances against Baylor and Southern Miss. The Owls responded by allowing only a pair of field goals against Memphis, marking the first time since 1995 the defense did not surrender a touchdown in a game. Rice had five sacks, four quarterback hurries, 10 tackles for loss and forced three turnovers. Memphis managed only 70 rushing yards, converted just 3 of 16 third-down conversions and had 10 punts.

• Scott Solomon: Solomon did a little bit of everything Saturday with three tackles (two for losses), one sack, one fumble recovery and one pass breakup. He moved into fourth all-time in school history in tackles for loss (37) and is third in sacks (19.5). “He is such a force,” coach David Bailiff said.

• Cameron Nwosu: For the third time this season, Nwosu either tied or led the Owls in tackles with nine. He also had a sack, one tackle for loss and forced a fumble with a hit on Memphis backup quarterback Andy Summerlin with the Tigers deep in Rice territory late in the fourth quarter.

• Paul Porras: Porras had four tackles, one sack, one pass break-up and one tackle for loss. He also gets credit for the blindside hit of Memphis quarter Taylor Reed that caused the interception that was returned by Jared Williams for a touchdown.

• Tyler Smith: Smith had a season-high 97 rushing yards, his most in a game since 113 against Houston in 2009. His 31-yard run set up the Owls’ first touchdown in the first quarter.

• Tanner Leland: Leland was pressed into his first career start with Corey Frazier bothered by a hamstring injury. He wasted no time with a tackle on his first play and finished as the Owls’ third-leading tackler with seven.

• Kyle Martens: The All-American had three punts downed inside the 20-yard line, including two that bounced out of bounds inside the 10. For the season, Martens is averaging 46.1 yards per punt with 12 inside the 20.

• Mario Hull: Hull tied a nearly 60-year school record with eight punt returns. He averaged 15.1 yards on the returns. The eight returns tied the school record established by Horton Nesrta at UCLA in 1952.

• Turner Petersen: Petersen scored twice on a pair of 1-yard runs, giving him a team-leading three touchdowns this season. He also had a 51-yard reception.

• Luke Willson: After picking the Yankees to win the World Series, the tight end-turned-future minor league prospect needed a pick-me-up. He had five catches for 58 yards and caught a 15-yard touchdown before halftime to give the Owls some breathing room.

• Malcolm Hill: One area the Owls have stressed is turnovers. And after missing on a few chances earlier in the season, the defense has recorded three interceptions in the past two games. The latest was by Hill, who gets style points for difficulty on his interception deep in Rice territory. Hill’s first career interception ended Memphis’ final drive and allowed the Owls to run the final seconds off the clock.

]]>http://blog.chron.com/sportsupdate/2011/10/rice-helmet-stickers-defense-provides-spark-in-win-over-memphis/feed/8Rice helmet stickers: BCS skid comes to an endhttp://blog.chron.com/sportsupdate/2011/09/rice-helmet-stickers-bcs-skid-comes-to-an-end/
http://blog.chron.com/sportsupdate/2011/09/rice-helmet-stickers-bcs-skid-comes-to-an-end/#commentsSun, 11 Sep 2011 04:28:02 +0000http://blog.chron.com/owls/?p=3795
The Owls snap a 22-game losing streak to Bowl Championship Series opponents with a 24-22 victory over Purdue.]]>After every win this season I will present helmet stickers.

Drum roll, please …

Linebacker Justin Allen: Made the play of the game, blocking a 31-yard field goal attempt by Carson Wiggs as time expired to preserve the Owls’ 24-22 victory over Purdue. For the game, Allen was credited with a team-high 10 tackles and a half-sack and tackle for loss.

Defensive end Scott Solomon: He was all over the field with eight tackles, two sacks and 3.5 tackles for loss. His third-quarter sack of Caleb TerBush pushed the Boilermakers out of field-goal range.

Kyle Martens: He showed why he’s one of the best punters in the nation, averaging 50.1 yards on seven punts, including a 65-yarder on the Owls’ opening possession. In two games (12 punts), Martens is averaging 49.5 yards and has four downed inside the 20-yard line.

Rice defensive coaching staff: They were oft- criticized throughout last season as the Owls ranked among the worst units in the nation. But through two games the Owls have shown vast improvement. You only need to look to the second half Saturday. Yes, Purdue moved down the field to set up a potential game-winning drive in the closing seconds. But with the offense sputtering at times, the game could have gotten out of hand. The defense made two stops with Purdue deep in Rice territory in the third quarter and only allowed a field goal in the second half.

Tight end Luke Willson: He made a tough four-yard touchdown catch on a laser by quarterback Taylor McHargue to end the first half. He finished with four catches for 36 yards.

Taylor McHargue: Forget about the fumble that eventually led to a second-half Purdue field goal. After the game, McHargue said he should just secure the ball and take the sack. Remember, McHargue was making only his sixth career start. This is what he did right: he marched the Owls down the field (completing 5 of 6 passes) on a game-tying drive to end the first half. Then he came out on the opening drive and delivered the go-ahead touchdown, a 19-yard pass to a wide-open Sam McGuffie. For the game, McHargue was 19-of-29 for 230 yards and two touchdowns and no interceptions.

Team: I don’t usually give out an all-encompassing helmet sticker. But when you snap a 22-game losing streak to BCS opponents it only seems appropriate.